I plan to graduate in physics and get more involved with the academic area and do research. Also, it may be worth to mention that I consider myself more of a theorical physicist than a experimental one. Considering that I want to go to study physics in grad school, what are the pros and cons of getting a Physical sciences degree rather than a physics degree? I read on a website that Physical sciences degrees are more for someone who wants to be a teacher and not a scientist, is that true? Will majoring in Physical sciences affect my chances of getting in a institution such as MIT, Stanford and Harvard for Grad school?
I know how hard it is to get in a grad school such as the ones I said above, but the question here is: Will a Physical Sciences major make it even harder?
One last detail, please consider that the Physical Sciences degree would come from Yale-NUS.
The first class graduates this year so there is no data. I wouldn’t think it would be an issue if you had good research experience. Contact them later in the year to find out where their grads went.
Having a Physical Sciences major is probably the least of your worries if you hope to get into Harvard/MIT/Stanford for grad. Have you been admitted to Yale-NUS, to begin with?
The name of the major itself is far less important than the courses you take. This is in turn less important than the research you do, the recommendations from professors that you get, and your GPA/GRE scores. You don’t have to limit yourself to the bare requirements for the major, but instead take the most advanced classes that are available in both physics and related disciplines.
Harvard, Caltech, Stanford, MIT, Yale, or any other top physics grad school program admits people from a number of different majors, including math, statistics and astronomy.
^What reuynshard says. The classes are what matter, not the name of the major.
The physical sciences major at Yale-NUS looks like a combination of physics and chemistry. It looks like you can choose to emphasize one or the other more if you want. Physics and chemistry are pretty closely related anyway and a good physicist probably has a little understanding of chemistry anyway (and the opposite is definitely true).